Open Access research that is better understanding human-computer interaction...

Strathprints makes available scholarly Open Access content by researchers in the Department of Computer & Information Sciences, including those researching information retrieval, information behaviour, user behaviour and ubiquitous computing.

The Department of Computer & Information Sciences hosts The Mobiquitous Lab, which investigates user behaviour on mobile devices and emerging ubiquitous computing paradigms. The Strathclyde iSchool Research Group specialises in understanding how people search for information and explores interactive search tools that support their information seeking and retrieval tasks, this also includes research into information behaviour and engagement.

Abstract

Buildings are a significant contributor to the rapidly increasing electricity demand in Egypt which is straining the existing supply network causing economic and social impacts. There are current initiatives aimed at improved building performance including adoption of international standards. The performance of existing Egyptian buildings is not well understood making the impact of these international standards uncertain. This paper provides insight into performance of current Egyptian office buildings through a multi-building energy survey and a detailed case study. The most common office type in the survey has natural ventilation and local cooling. A process to capture observed performance in a representative model and input parameter set is presented. The model is used to investigate performance impacts of parameters including: location, weather, building envelope, intensity of occupancy, behaviour, and installed systems including the HVAC strategy. HVAC strategy was identified as the most significant factor. Typical Egyptian offices with natural ventilation and local cooling systems under personal control have electricity demand less than 50% of centrally serviced buildings. System efficiencies (HVAC, lights, equipment) and occupant behaviour (e.g. use of systems, temperatures) were also identified as significant factors, each with potential of around 30% saving compared to current typical offices. Possible policy measures to promote energy efficient systems and energy conscious behaviour are proposed which together can reduce the energy demand of typical offices by 50%. Trade-offs between energy use and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) are discussed.